Rosa Valley
by CrimsonMoon91
Summary: After a nasty past, Sakura begins her last year of high school all alone. After meeting the new girl she doesn't feel as loney anymore, and she thinks that things might go her way once more. Both new and old relationships are bound to arise. SakaNeji
1. Cursed Fate

Hey pplz! Okay, I'm working really hard on this story and I'd appreciate it if you reviewed and kept on reading. Because it'll be cool, I promise. Though this chapter isn't all that amazing, it's not really supposed to be. Because it's more of a information chapter then anything else. But you gotta know some stuff before you go on reading the rest of the story or else you'd be like "...What the fishies?" Because I've changed some stuff.

Stuff you'll probably wanna know.

-The whole story's a little OOC. Not my fault. It just kinda worked like that.

-Sakura's hair is NOT supposed to be pink yet. It's long and black. Just wait till the next chapter to find out why.

-I've tried to include all of the characters, but it's kinda hard when you realize how many there actually are and what I have in mind for this story's future.

-I've got a plan so don't be all mean and diss me and my story. It'll all work out eventually, so just hang tight.

-I'M SORRY! My spelling and grammar suck. I've admitted this frequently. (But I am better then my friend who spells "dumb" with an E. Seriously, who does that?)

-I don't own Naruto or it's characters, I'd never claim to, because I'm not that great at writing or drawing. If I did own Naruto it'd be stick figures running around aimlessly for one single episode, because after one episode I'd be fired. No one would like it.

-I don't wanna give too much away pairing wise, but I know some people out there are like die hard Sakura&Neji fans so I'm going to try not to let you guys down. But besides them (and the obviously super cute Naruto&Hinata couple!) I'm going to try to conceal the couples till later.

-I have nothing against Ino! Really I don't. I just needed a girl to be whoreish and who was close to Sakura. She might be better later on... maybe... you'll have to find out.

Anyways, please read on!

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Prologue

Cursed Fate

The young girl sat up with a start, jerking her whole body upright, opening her eyes to see only darkness. She clutched onto the blanket that she was still engulfed in, gasping for breath. Trying to calm her racing heart beat she held the blankets so tightly her knuckles were turning white. Her eyes swiveled in all directions but could only see what the green glow from her alarm clock would allow her to. All the many shadows of the room now seemed to hold a perilous monster or ghostly apparition waiting to whisk her away, back to her nightmare.

It took a while for her head to clear enough to know she was safe in her room, just having woken up from yet another nightmare. Shuffling backwards so her back pressed against the headboard, Sakura whimpered a little.

"When are these nightmares going to stop?" She whispered to herself, her voice cut through the silence of the suburban home. Her hands released the coral coloured blanket, letting it fall back down on top of her bed while she brought her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly. She rested her forehead on the top of her knees and closed her eyes, every once in a while taking deeps breaths in order to calm herself more.

She should have been used to this by now, these nightmares she would get. They occurred every time she was stressed or had something unpleasant on her mind. And, as it would seem, she had been stressed for months now, having nightmares a few times a week.

Every time it was the same nightmare-the same play by play of everything that happened just mere months ago-it was always exactly the same. She could quote every sentence anyone in her presence had said that night, she could mimic all their actions precisely, but that didn't mean she understood what had happened.

_It had been the middle of May, the day was darker then normal, a cloud of gray seemed to hang over Rose Village. She had been rushed to the hospital in an ambulances after one of her closest friends had found her on the floor in her bathroom, by that time she had almost bled to death. _

_How she had gotten there was a story in itself. Her father was an undercover detective, working in a small business with two partners he had met years prior to the girl's existence. Not too long after the three of them left high school they had started a-what they had hoped to be-family detective business. They worked together for years, taking down small time criminals, helping to potently save people's lives, and to this day they continue the business. But not without making a few enemies along the way._

_In fact, that was the reason the young girl had gone to the hospital in the first place. Sakura's father and his partners were invited to a big dinner to celebrate the appointing of a new chief of police that spring. He, along with her mother, had gone to the dinner and stayed in a hotel that night so they didn't have to drive back home in the dark. Sakura was supposed to stay home with her older brother while they were gone, but it didn't work out like that._

_Sakura and her brother had a fight that night, about her brother's secret-or what he thought was secret-affection towards one of Sakura's best friends, Yamanaka Ino. Ino was pretty, and popular, but she had some family problems that made Sakura grow increasingly annoyed with her. Ino's parents were workaholics and were rarely at home, making Ino crave their attention. And when she couldn't get their attention, she strived for other's. _

_After their fight that night Sakura's brother went to Ino's house, leaving Sakura all alone. She wasn't used to being all by herself, the little sounds of creaking wood and the light breeze rattling the windows gave her the chills. Little did she know, some of those creaks and cracks she had heard weren't cause by nature. _

_She had decided to take a bath to calm herself, and as she lay soaking in the bubble infested waters she heard a loud bang come from down stairs. The noise scared her, like all the other ones she had heard previously, but this time it was different. The noise had come from the front foyer, and it was soon fallowed by other strange noise. _

_Finding the nervousness within her growing, she got out of the tub and put on her pale green bathrobe. Walking slowly to the bathroom door, she pressed her ear to the wood and focused on what was going on downstairs. Dull thuds, scarping of wood, vases being knocked over, footsteps, and hushed voices- hearing this sent Sakura's mind spinning._

_She had no idea what to do, but she knew she had to do something. Deciding it was best to sneak out the window rather then try to fight her way out, she attempted to crawl out the window. Unfortunately Sakura had always been one of the shorter students in her grade and she wasn't able to reach to windowsill. _

_She looked around the room desperately for something to stand on and found a large wooden laundry basket. After dumbing the contents out on the floor, Sakura flipped the basket over and put it under the window. Though standing on it was uncomfortable and sent multiple splinters into the bottom of her feet, it was able to get her high enough off of the floor to reach the pane. _

_Gripping her fingers on the wooden frame, she tried repeatedly to hoist herself up out out of the bathroom. She hadn't counted on the fact that her whole body would shake violently from fear and the cold damp of the air surrounding her. She didn't have long to try and think of a new plan of escape before the bathroom door flew open with a loud bang. Standing in the doorway was a rather large man with a very orange mohawk looking threatening to the small girl._

_The man hadn't realized anyone was home and was surprised to see a fearful young girl wrapped in a bathrobe standing before him. But it only took a faction of a second for the shock to wear off before a slightly sadistic smile crossed his face. A second later her lunged at Sakura, causing her to shriek and slip off the upturned basket. _

_After that everything went black. She had hit her head on the side of the bathtub and fell unconscious, she couldn't remember any thing else that happened that night. Then intruders didn't do anything to her ones she had hit her head. They had thought no one was home, that's why they were there that night. Their intentions were only to break in and trash the Haruno's house. It was their attempt at getting Sakura's father back for putting one of their friends behind bars. _

Sakura relished cool breeze that came through her window that stood slightly ajar. She slowly climbed out of her bed, as to not wake up her parents from their peaceful sleep. A small amount of pleasure graced the bottom of her feet as she quietly fumbled her way across the cold hardwood floor.

She had never liked summer much. She preferred spring over any season, when the snow melted away revealing the colourful buds of flowers and lush green grass. As summer came rolling around the sun would grow so hot that the flowers would shrivel and the grass would become a sickly brown colour. But alas, summer was inevitable and it came every year at the same time. Sakura was quite thankful that it was almost over. Autumn was right around the corner, and school was mere days away.

Reaching the window she pushed it all the way open to let in a small amount of cool air. She stood there for quite some time with her eyes shut enjoying the change in temperature, even if it was a small one. After a moment the draft ceased and Sakura opened her eyes ones more.

Across the street was a small park, some of it's outlines weren't visible in the darkness of the night. A look of anguish rose on her soft features. She always liked that park, but for a long time she hadn't been able to bring herself to step foot upon the graveled ground.

Another breath of wind blew through the neighborhood, causing the swings in the playground to sway. The sound of rusty metal echoed between the houses on the street.

Closing her eyes once more, Sakura let out a painful sigh. It hadn't been that long ago that she and her brother had sat for hours on those swings, just talking and joking around. But now it seemed like years had gone by since she had smiled, let alone laughed at one of her brother's lame jokes.

After opening her eyes again, Sakura turned around in the dark room and stumbled back to her bed. Laying down she threw her thin coral blanket over herself trying to get comfortable, a thing she doubted she could do. She had never been able to relax and consent to comfort while she had something on her mind. And on nights she had that nightmare her mind was always racing.

_The morning after she had fell to the bathroom floor one of her close friends, Hygua Neji, had come over to check up on her and her brother. Seeing the front door was open as he walked up the sidewalk, Neji started to worry. His heart started to race the moment he entered the house, seeing everything in a state of disorder. He franticly searched each room for either of the teenage Harunos. When he finally fell upon Sakura, he was sure she was dead. _

_Though she was alive, she still had spent hours on the cold tile floor with a crack open skull. Neji was able to find the telephone in the chaotic mess of a living room at Sakura's house. An ambulance came and took both of them to the hospital. Sakura was rushed into the emergency room while Neji was left to try and contact her parents and find out where her brother had gone. He really hoped that nothing had happened to him too._

_After contacting her parents and calling all the likely people who would know where her brother was, Neji was finally able to locate him at Ino's house. He would have found this odd if his mind wasn't clouded with worry. _

_Soon the waiting room was filled with concerned parents, siblings, and friends. Sakura's parents had rushed over quickly and hadn't found the time to change out of their more formal attire. Her brother and Ino showed up together but hadn't made eye contact with one another even once. When he asked what had happened, the question had come out awkward and filled with guilt, since he was supposed to have been there with her the night before. Her other friends, Nara Shikamaru and Sabaka No Gaara, sat tensely beside Neji. _

_It wasn't too long before the doctor came out and told them that she'd be alright. You could practically feel a wave of ease pass through the room. Sakura had lost a lot of blood and suffered minimal brain damage when she hit her head. The doctor told them she'd be fine with a few days rest. _

_The first night she was in the hospital she didn't wake up. Though it worried her family and friends, the doctor assured them that it was alright. She was weak because of all the blood she lost, but she'd wake up soon enough. _

_The doctor was right, the next day she awoke drowsy. Her parents had stayed their all night with her but left a short while previous to her waking to go home, change, and bring Sakura some of her favorite candies to make her feel better. Gaara, Ino and Shika had also gone home for some rest, having spent hours worrying and stressing over Sakura. _

_When she did wake up, her head was pounding and aching so much, she could barely tell who was in the room with her. After the nurse was called she was given some medicine to help make everything clearer. It took a while for it to kick in, but eventually she could make out most of the objects that filled the room, two of which were people._

"_Hey." A tall black haired boy had said softly from the chair beside her bed, "You're finally up." _

_Sakura grunted in response. She tried to sit up in her hospital bed but had a little trouble due to her lightheaded-ness. The black haired boy got up from his seat and helped her into a proper sitting position as Neji came closer to the bed. He had been standing by the large window gazing outside._

"_How are you feeling?" He asked her, sitting down on one side of the bed opposite to were her brother was currently. _

"_Hn," She voiced, placing one hand to the side of her head, "Not good."_

"_That's to be expected." Her brother said with a sad smile._

"_Do you know what happened?" She asked him, running her hand through what was now her short black hair._

"_They had to cut your hair." He replied, "It kept getting in the way."_

"_That's not what I meant," She told him blandly, bringing her hand down to her lap where the other one lay. She lifted her head to face her older sibling and look into his emerald green eyes. He diverted his gaze, suddenly finding one of the plain white tiles on the floor very interesting. "Do you know what happened?"_

_Neji's eyes traveled from one sibling to the other not understanding what was going on._

"_Yeah." The dark haired boy muttered under his breath. Though barely audible, Sakura still heard it. _

"_I've got a question." Sakura said after a few minutes of silence in the room. This caught his attention, "What were you doing?"_

_Though the question seemed simple enough, he knew it wasn't meant to be. "I was at Ino's." He told her honestly, hoping that the answer would suffice. But it didn't._

"_I knew where you were." Her voice unlike the sweet, cheerful voice she normally used when addressing him, it was cold and dry like she was talking to someone insuperior to her. "I asked you what you were doing."_

_He sighed out angrily, there was no way of getting around the subject._

"_Fine Sakura, I'll tell you what I was doing." He said in a louder voice then he meant to, "You already know but it seems you're dieing to hear it from me. We had sex." Silence filled the room again. "There, happy?" _

"_No." She retorted bitterly. "I'm not happy. You shouldn't be either."_

"_Really?" He asked, sending her a small glare, "And why's that?"_

"_She doesn't love you." _

_For a moment a look of hurt spread itself across the young man's soft features, but it was soon replaced by one of fury. _

"_Just because you're angry because I left you for Ino doesn't give you the right to make up stuff about her." He said while getting to his feet._

"_I'm not making anything up." She replied angrily. "She's just using you because she wants attention."_

"_She wouldn't do that." He told her. "Not to me."_

"_Why are you protecting her?" Sakura asked outraged. Though a question kept popping back into her head, 'why was she?' "You know I'm right. You know she's just taking advantage of you."_

"_Why the hell would she do that?" He asked her, "Huh, Sakura? Why would she want to use me?"_

"_Because," She screamed, "She's a whore."_

_The second the word slipped out of her mouth Sakura knew she had pushed him way too far. The moments that fallowed her final outburst seemed to drag on. She wasn't sure what was going to happen. By the look on her brother's face she was sure he was about to reach out and slap her across the face. _

_But he didn't hit her, he didn't yell at her, he just turned around and walked straight out the door. He didn't look back, and he didn't close the door. He just left. _

_Neji sighed in an attempt to ease the tension in the room. "Sakura." He muttered, shaking his head slightly like a troubled mother would do to her misbehaved child._

"_Don't, Neji." She said hanging her head towards the floor. She hated it when he did that. It was his way of scolding her. He started with sighing and making her feel like a child then he'd continue on to make her see just how much worst she had made things for herself. "I know I went too far, but please, don't start."_

"_Alright." He said, though it wasn't very convincing. She knew it was only a matter of time before he started harassing her. He couldn't keep from making her see the errors of her way. _

"_You know," He said about five minutes later, "He was really worried about you." She made a small grunt-like noise so that he knew she heard him. "We all were."_

_When she didn't reply they fell quiet once more, but Neji had other plans. If the room were to stay muted he was sure Sakura would go insane._

_He reacher over to the nightstand beside her bed and picked up a stuffed bear. It was Tye Dyed purple and pink with sparkling hot pink writing across it's stomach that said 'huggles'. His movement caused Sakura to look up at him._

"_What's that?" She asked out of pure confusion. The toy was heinously cute._

"_A get well present" Neji said nonchalantly while looking at the bear in slight disgust before he placed it back down on the nightstand, making sure it faced the wall. "Just goes to show how worried Gaara really was."_

"_That's from Gaara?" She laughed out in shock._

"_Yeah." Neji replied, looking back at her with a small smile. "Poor dude was so stressed that he actually thought it was an alright gift." Sakura let out another small laugh at this._

"_I'm glad you're laughing again." He said, once again getting her attention and causing her to look up into his lavender eyes. _

"_I shouldn't be." Guilt laced her voice as she spoke. "Not when my brother hates me."_

"_He doesn't hate you." Neji had assured her as tears were starting to form in her sea green eyes. "He's just upset."_

"_But I've never seen him that mad before." The tears threatened to spill over the sides of her eyes. Neji moved further onto the bed and pulled Sakura onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist. She leaned the good side of her head against his shoulder and let a few tears trickle down her cheeks. "You think he'll forgive me?" _

"_Of course he will." Neji almost laughed. Though she could be quite cold when she wanted to, Sakura was a very sweet girl. She couldn't escaped her innocence, it came second nature to her. "He really does love you."_

_Turning her head to reply, she was startled when she realized how close they actually were. Their lips were mere inches away from each other, and Sakura found his gaze so inviting, so alluring. His pale orbs flicked from her lips to her eyes, silently seeking permission. Seeing no signs of refusal Neji neared, closing the distance to seal his lips with hers. _

_The kiss began feather-light, innocent and gentle, but soon Neji soon deepened it, knowing full well that Sakura wouldn't stop him. Sakura's eyes widened like saucers before they closed, like a mindless automaton, she returned his kiss. She was just beginning to pick up on his rhythm when he pulled away hastily, as if having been burned._

"_Well, well, well." A voice called from the doorway of the hospital room. Hesitantly Sakura looked up, a deep scarlet colour rose to her face. Gazing over her shoulder Sakura saw a tall, skinny blond girl looking very satisfied with what she had just walked in on. "Looky what we've got here."_

Throwing her blanket back off of her overheating body, Sakura rolled over in her bed and burred her face in her pillow. She let out a groan, she'd rather not remember what came next. Not that she wanted to remember all that had gone through her head already tonight. Believe her, nothing could make her want to forget it more.

Groaning again, she pinched her eyes closed and tried desperately to shake the visions from her view. But, like every time she started thinking about her brother, she couldn't get the images of him out of her head. The visions of his livid face as he turn and walked away from her, not saying a word to her. Never again going to speak a word to her.

"_So that's it?" An enraged Ino asked moments after their conversation had gone down a different path. By this time Sakura was standing in front of the blond girl, holding a distressed, yet determined look upon her pale face. "After all of these years you're just going to drop me as a friend?"_

"_It was a long time coming." Sakura said numbly in a voice that didn't seem to be that of her own. "I can't take it anymore Ino. You're constant need for attention is driving me insane."_

_There was a brief moment of silence in the room. Ino was to angry and confused to manage to form another sentence. She didn't know where this was coming from, she and Sakura had always been best friends. But now Sakura seemed dead set against having any further relations with the girl._

_Sakura herself was standing quietly, as if waiting for Ino to get the point and storm out of the room. Behind her Neji remained seated on the hospital bed. He had been silent the entire time, thinking it best to leave the two to sort out their own problem, but it didn't seem like Sakura's answer was going to solve anything._

"_So we're not going to be friends anymore?" Ino's voice was quieter then normal as she ran through everything her dark haired friend had just told her. "You don't want to talk to me, and we're never going to hang out again?"_

"_Exactly." Said Sakura, her eyes narrowing slightly as she continued to stare into Ino's watery baby blue orbs. "As of right now we aren't friends."_

_Water began to spill over the edges of the taller girl's eyes, realizing that her long time friend wasn't going to change her mind. They were to cease being friends, after going through childhood and their high school lives, as of yet, side by side. It was a concept that distressed her to say the least._

"_Fine." She managed to croak out, tears making their way down her cheeks. "Have it your way."_

_With that she turned on her heals and made her way over to the closed door. Sea green eyes didn't take themselves off her for a second, fallowing her every movement. When the blond placed her hand on the door she hesitated for a few seconds, mentally contemplating what she could say as a final farewell._

"_I hope you know, that if we aren't friends," Ino's words were slow and meaningful, suddenly dripping with spite and malice as she made final eye contact,"We're enemies."_

_Something within Sakura exploded but her appearance didn't change for an instant. Standing straight with her arms crossed over her chest, she sent one last glare Ino's way, "So be it." _

_With that Ino left, leaving the room in complete and total silence once more. Sakura closed her eyes tight, willing herself not to cry. True, it was her idea to stop all traces of a relationship with her friend, but she still couldn't help but feel a huge loss, like someone close her had tragically passed._

_Neji made an odd noise, probably just to get Sakura's attention, she concluded before gazing over at him. When their eyes met she wished she hadn't looked his way at all. The look he was sending her made her stomach turn. Before Ino had walked into the room he had only been giving her looks of affection and concern. But now the worry had washed away from his smooth features and was replaced by one of utter disappointment._

_The door bust open with a loud bang that echoed in the small room. Instantly drawing their attention towards the sound, the two were startled to see Shikamaru standing in to doorway. He was panting hard, as though he had been running for a very long time. Sweat was trickling down his forehead as he leaned on the wooden door frame and tried to regain his breath._

"_Shika?" Neji said, getting to his feet and standing between him and Sakura. The discontent in his face lighten as concern began to set in once more. "What's wrong? What happened?"_

_Taking a big gulp of air Shika raised his head and met Sakura's eyes, "Your brother-" He breathed out again, he really must have traveled far if he was this tiered. But then again, it was Shikamaru standing before them, he wasn't exactly the most energetic person in the world, "-car-" Which meant that what ever the reason for his sudden need to rush over, wasn't something to be overlooked, "-accident."_

_Sakura's eyes widened as she gasped in terror, she didn't know what to think. She had just seen her brother a short while before, how could he have gotten himself into trouble in that small amount of time?_

"_What?" She managed to croak in a horrified voice. Her throat was void of all liquid, she choked a little as the scratchy word passed her lips._

"_Outside." Shika informed her, his face was paler then normal and his face help a dismayed look. He tried to sober up his appearance, he attempted to straighten up his posture as air began to circulate more regularly through his lungs. "Gaara and I were heading in to see you, and we saw him leaving."_

_He gulped again, his throat too was without any moister. _

"_What happened Shika?" Neji pressed, one of his closest friends was just reported hurt, he wasn't about to let something as simple as Shikamaru's lack of saliva stop him from finding out exactly what happened. _

"_He was distracted by something." Shika continued, but this time he made a point not to look in their direction. "He wasn't paying attention when he left the building. He walked out onto the street and didn't see the car coming before it was too late."_

_Her chest was heaving up and down now. No matter how much air passed through her lungs she would keep sucking in more as a feeble attempt to try and calm herself. It obviously wasn't working at all as tears started pooling at the edges of her eyes. _

_She was trying to convince herself silently that he was alright. People have gotten hit by cars and survived before, she knew that was a fact. In school they were forced to sit through long assemblies when public speakers came to share their experiences with drunken driving and recklessness. If they had managed to survive and be well enough to lecture a crowd of teenagers then her brother would be fine. Right? _

"_Shika." The pale eyed boy growled, not liking the quietness of the boy. It was eating at him, he needed to know what happened. Neji needed to know that he was alright._

_Shikamaru turned his head to the side, eyes watering, intent on not seeing their fearful expressions. "I'm sorry Sakura." He mumbled, his voice cracking a little, "I'm so sorry."_

_Neji's reactions were lightening fast. He managed to catch Sakura as she collapsed in pure horror, but her pull was too strong for him and he was drawn down to the floor with her. That would be the last time the sorrowful girl would be weeping in his loving arms._

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So, what do you think of it so far? Please let me know, I'd really appreciate it. I'm not that great at witting, so reviews would help me out. Think of it as your good act for the day, you'd make me really happy! Or if you really have something against reviewing, then go read more stories. There are some really great soon-to-be-authors out there that are dieing to have their stories read.

So please, read and review!


	2. Bonds Both Made And Broken

It's been like two months since I've updated... Oh well!

You all ready for chapter 2? Maybe? Okay, here it is. But first;

More stuff you might wanna know

-This chapter explains some more stuff about what happened before they start grade 12. It's like the funeral and junk. You'll probably wanna read this chapter if you plan on fallowing along with the story line.

-I don't own Naruto or it's characters, just in case you wanted to know that. I'd appreciate it if you didn't sue me. I'm not rich, I would be seriously in debt if you did that.

-SORRY! I apologize again for my crappy grammar and bad spelling. I've always been bad at English.

-Oh. In the last chapter the dude with the orange mohawk that was in the bathroom with Sakura was supposed to be Jirobo. Just so you know.

-Again, I have nothing against Ino. I just needed someone to use as a whoreish teenage girl and she fit my criteria nicely.

-Like I said before, I kinda wanna keep the pairing secret (mostly cuz I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do with some of the characters) but this is a SakuraNeji Fanfic, and as I mentioned I think Hinata and Naruto together are really cute. But besides that, if you wanna suggest a pairing you can go ahead. I'm not saying I'll actually use your suggestion, but it would be nice to know what you think.

-On that note, thank-you for those of you who reviewed, and I'd love some more!

I think that's about it. So please read on.

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Chapter 1

Bonds Both Made & Broken

Mist billowed around to room, covering ever object it touched in a thin layer of warm liquid. The sound of water droplets pelting against the tiled wall echoed in her ear. Sakura stood in front to the foggy bathroom mirror in her pale green bathrobe gazing at her hazy reflection.

She had carelessly left her wet hair down so that it dripped water over her shoulders and down her back. She examined her roots warily but decided that you could not yet see her natural raven black hair growing out. Instead the vision of a bubble gum pink head of hair lay sopping onto the peach bathmat on the tiled floor.

Her pink locks were much shorter then she had previously wishes them to be. Before the accident her hair had almost reached the middle of her back. But now it sat just above her shoulders in a fun layered style. She had always had her father's hair; straight black strands that took an extremely long time to grow. She knew it would still be weeks before her dark roots started to show through.

Why did she dye her hair cotton candy pink? People asked her that question frequently, and to be honest, she had never been sure how to answer. Sure she could have said it was her rebellious stage, or even claim it was because her favorite colour was pink. But she knew better then to say those things. Though not many people would have continued the conversation past that point, anyone who knew her well would know that she was lying. She never was a fan of the colour, and she wasn't one to be rebellious either.

Most teenagers her age would've been rebellious though, in her circumstance. Growing up with a detective as a father and a super religious stay-at-home mom would be hard on anyone. Especially when you threw in the fact that her brother died, and she hadn't spoken to any of her closest friends in months.

"Sakura!" A voice snapped her out of her fixed gaze on the mirror. "You better get out of the shower or you'll be late for school."

Sakura sighed, adjusting the mossy green robe she wore. After turning off the shower knobs, she picked up her previously discarded pajamas and made her way out of the bathroom. Shuffling down the hallway she left a trail of water drops on the soft gray carpit that lead to her bedroom.

Closing the door behind her, the girl chucked her used clothing into a nearby laundry hamper before she crossed the room to her wooden dresser. Pulling out the top drawer she rummaged through until she found a suitable pair of plain white panties and bra, the ladder was adorn in little silver stars and sparkles.

After slipping off her bathrobe and pulling on both undergarments she made her way over to her closet on the adjacent wall. Opening the doors and scanning the articles that hung blandly on their hangers, Sakura made her decision and pulled out a few pieces of clothing.

A pair of denim capris, a dark red tank top, and a button up white blouse with little red swirls embroidered in the fabric. She was never one to be obsessed with fashion, that was more Ino's area of expertise. She found that though there were times when a girl needed to look nice, she'd rather stick with the plain and simple look.

She grabbed her faded green messengers bag and walked out of her bedroom. Fully aware that her hair was still very wet, she walked back into the washroom and pulled a brush through it. Thankfully, just like her father's hair, it was quite manageable and didn't need much taking care of. Once that was finished, Sakura left the bathroom once more, this time descending the staircase and walking into the kitchen.

"'Monin'." She mumbled to her parents. Mr and Mrs Haruno sat side by side at the kitchen table, one looking over today's addition of the local paper, and the other gazing cheerfully out the window towards the small flower garden outside.

"Oh, good morning, Sweetie." Her mom greeted from behind her cup of morning tea. She was a kindhearted woman, being sweet and caring was her way of life. She was a cheerful, faithful middle aged woman, so naturally she and her teenage daughter wouldn't get along. She loved her husband and daughter dearly, it was obvious to most people. But she and Sakura didn't see eye to eye on more then one subject.

Sakura grunted in response while scoping out something for breakfast. Though she wasn't a big fan of breakfast itself, she had watched too many health videos in school not to know the importance of it. Settling upon an apple she found laying in the fruit bowl on the garnet counter top, Sakura started munching away after plunking herself down in one of the empty seats by her parents.

"Are you ready to go back to school Sakura?" Her dad's voice came from the over side of the news paper. She looked up at him, he's eyes peeking at her from over top of the off white pages. Giving him a bland look, she replied.

"No, not really."

Though she couldn't see it, Sakura knew that her father was giving her a sad smile. He was worried about her, he just wasn't admitting it because she had spent a long time forcing him to consider her as a capable young woman rather then his baby girl. She knew that deep down she'd always be his little girl, but now he just referred to her as his beautiful, artistic daughter.

"Have you remembered everything?" Her mother asked.

"Mmmhmm." She replied with a mouth full of apple. Just then a horn was heard outside their home. Sallowing the chunk of apple, Sakura adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder. She gave both her parents a small smile before she ran to the front door and slipped on some plaid red flats on her way out the door.

A large mustard colored school bus was parked in front of the her driveway, it's door wide open. She soon crossed the green grass of her front lawn and hopped up the steps of the vehicle, she greeted the bus driver quietly getting only a grunt then a cough as a response. He was a good man, but he wasn't really a morning person. His name was Hayate Gekko, and he's been Rosa Valley High's bus driver for years. Everyone's gotten used to his untalkative ways in the early hours of the day.

After being shrugged off by the dark haired man, Sakura walked to a seat halfway down the long aisle of the bus. As soon as her butt hit the cold seat Hayate was off, traveling to the next destination. She couldn't really blame him for the rush, he had a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time. Besides, it wasn't as though he was a bad driver. He could handle driving a fully loaded bus through the different bends and turns in the suburban streets of Rosa Valley while breaking the speed limit. He was quite an interesting man to be sure.

Looking around the bus itself, Sakura wasn't surprised to see only a few students. She lived near the outskirts of their community, as did the others there in the confined space with her. Not many of the kids where she lived actually went to Rosa Valley High. Most of their parents figured that since they were on the outer part of the community circle that their kids might as well go to a bigger school.

Rose Valley itself was only a small subsection of the large city of Konoha. Sakura knew the story of the city's 'big boom' very well.

It was said that over a hundred years prior Konoha was nothing but a small fishing village. It was meek and run down by small time criminals, but no one really cared enough about it to do anything. That was until a man by the name of Shodaime fell upon the village in his travels. Over the years he helped to make it less of a run down hell hole and more of an actual town. The people of Konoha were so grateful to him that one of the local craftsmen carved a replica of Shodaime's head into one of the walls of the valley. Under the large portrait the craftsman carved the word "daiichi" meaning "first". When Shodaime asked the man why he had chosen that word to place under the monument, the man replied, "Because you were the first man to ever give a shit about our home; the village of Konoha." The man's words weren't eloquently spoken, but the message was clear. The people of Konoha would forever be grateful to him.

When The First- as everyone refers to him now- died it had devastating impact on the members of the town. For a few years after that the people were lost. They tried to govern themselves like any normal town would do, but without The First to guild them they lost the hope they had once held. But then, out of determination for the good of the town and the memory of his older brother, The Second came to power.

Shodaime's younger brother Nidaime governed over the town for years. In a similar attempt to show how gratefully the citizens were, a man was hired to carved a likeness of him beside the one of his brother. As well, underneath the head was carved "daini" meaning second.

There were two others after Nidaime, both brave and powerful, wishing only good for the town. Their efforts payed off too, considering the city had now grown so much that they had to build a bridge over the river at ran at the bottom of the valley so that they had enough room for everyone to live.

Rosa Valley was located on the residential side of the river. It was the only place in the whole valley had the right soil to grow roses, and boy did they grow. Almost every house and building had roses growing in front of it.

Sakura found the whole rose theme a little over done. True, she liked roses, they were pretty and made for good scenery, but to have every street in the community named after a different kind of rose was a little too much for her taste.

The bus came to a stop outside of a light brown two story home. It's lawn looked much like a sponge; deep holes were dug everywhere, obstructing the green grass from it's growth. It was unmistakably the home of the Inuzukas.

Sakura watched out her window as a brown haired boy tripped out the front door. She was slightly amused when a small brown dog came running out the door behind him, barking and wagging it's tail happily. When the boy noticed his peruser, he yelled something over his shoulder in the direction of the still wide open front door. Moments later a middle aged woman came to the door, dressed in her night gown, her hair standing every which-way, she yawned and gave her son a questioning look. The boy motioned towards the puppy who was trotting around his feet. The woman sighed and barked an order at the dog. Immediately the small animal scurried back into the house, deeming it safe for the boy to open the gate.

As soon as he was out of the yard he ran for the bus, he knew he had caused Hayate to loose time in his busy morning schedule. Once he reached the top step he began to apologize to the man, but he just coughed and pointed one thumb to the back. The boy got the message and sat down quickly. Not a moment after he had reached his seat did Hayate speed away from the house.

Kiba Inuzuka was the boy's name. Sakura glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. His whole family could be described as animal lovers. His older sister had just come back from college were she had been studying to become a veterinarian. As soon as she had gotten back she opened a little business in Rosa Valley, since there wasn't a vet before she came.

It wasn't too long before the bus stopped again, this time a the corner of Rosa Mundi Crescent. There were a few students living on the street that went to Rosa Valley High. It was quicker just to spot at the corner and hope that everyone heard the bus's horn from their houses.

Luckily everyone did hear, soon front doors opened and teenagers ran from their porches to where the bus had stopped. Sakura looked them all over as they piled onto the bus, taking their respected seats. She recognized all of them, that's what she got from living in the same part of the city for most of her life. She new almost everyone around Rosa Valley, and since her father was one of the three only detectives-and law enforcers for that matter-from around there Sakura knew more then most people did about each and every family who lived in the vicinity. Like wise, she knew quite a bit about the students in her school.

The first girl to board the bus was Tenten. Her family owned to only doujo for miles, so she thought highly of herself. Not to the point of a swollen head, but still, Sakura knew Tenten and her family felt that they were better the some other members of Konoha. Tenten herself wasn't a bad person, but she and Sakura never really had anything in common, so they generally steered clear of each other. However, Sakura had heard ever since Ino and herself had stopped being friends Tenten had decided it was her duty to fill Sakura's spot. She and Ino were said to be pretty close now.

The person who fallowed her onto the great yellow beast of a vehicle was none other then Rock Lee. Sakura kind of liked Lee, not in any romantic of course, she merely thought of him as a reliable friend. He was sort of dorky, with his bowl cut hair and incredibly thick eyebrows, but he was still really sweet when he wanted to be. And for his great characteristics Sakura was able to over look his slightly lame exterior... most of the time.

The other two that managed to enter the bus just as Hayate closed to doors were Sakon and Ukon. They were twins, that could be told right off the bat. Both brothers creeped Sakura out, whether it was there silver hair, weird obsession with green lipstick, or over all aura around them, she didn't know. But she did know that she would never want to be caught in a dark alley by either of them.

This time Hayate didn't even wait for the students to be seated before he stepped on the gas peddle and zoomed down the street. It wasn't even two minutes later when he came to a brisk stop. Not expecting the sudden halt many of the teenagers were pushed forwards by momentum, Sakura being one of them.

With a small groan Sakura looked out the window whilst trying to sit up properly once more. Her green eyes peeked out over the neighborhood. For years she had taken the same bus route to school and never once did they stop here. And where was 'here' exactly? By the state of the houses that lined the streets her best bet would be that they were currently at Rosa Laevigata Court. It was one of the streets that the higher end families lived on. But to Sakura's recollection, no one who lived near here went to her school.

The brown haired bus driver was beginning to get impatient, he honked the horn once more while suppressing a cough. The front door of a rather wide two story home cracked open revealing a girl about the same age as Sakura. The pink haired girl's brows knit in confusion. Though she had been right, no one she knew that lived here had gone to her school before, she couldn't help but feel that she had seen the girl before.

Sakura watched as the girl briskly walked down the pathway to the side walk and hopping up the steps to the bus. She smiled shyly to Hayate and apologized quietly before she faced the seats. Everyone in the bus was staring at her. Though she was unaware why that was, Sakura knew it was because she was new. Not many new people come to Rosa Valley. Sure it was a nice quaint place to live, there was little crime and the natural beauty of the valley was breath taking, but there was no industrial reason to come. Even if there was some business related affair, most people stayed in the city for that. The main reason why people moved out to their subsection of was to get away from the city life. But if that were true in this girl's case, then why would she have such a big house? There was no need for one in such a place.

The girl stood at the front of the aisle timidly until yet another one of Hayate's coughs got her attention. He motioned for her to take a seat so he could be on his way. Obliging, the dark haired girl started moving down the aisle. Sakura watched her movements. Though she seemed shy and reluctant to sit anywhere that she was unwelcomed she moved gracefully.

As she walked closer to where Sakura sat, she quickly refocused her gaze out the window. But to her surprise, the girl didn't continue walking past her. Sakura looked up, her sea green eyes met the girl's pale silver ones.

"Do you mind?" She motioned to the seat beside Sakura. It took a moment for the pink haired girl to respond, but as soon as she regained her state of mind she nodded. Greatful, the girl sat down just as the bus began to move once more. After given a moment to try and make herself comfortable, the girl mumbled. "Thanks."

"No problem." Sakura replied half heartedly. It was beginning to really bug her now. Where had she seen this girl before? Out of sheer annoyance that she couldn't put her finger on it, she had to ask. "Umm, we haven't met before, have we?"

The girl turned to Sakura was a confused expression. For a moment she seemed to be studying Sakura's features for any sign of recollection of the girl. Moments dragged on, and Sakura began to doubt the girl would reply.

"At Neji's birthday." She said once Sakura had given up hope on a response. The answer startled her, she wasn't expecting that. But the girl continued, "I met you at Neji's birthday a few years back, didn't I?"

Sakura looked over the girl once more. Had she met her at her old friend's birthday party? Once more Sakura's bluey green eyes locked on pale gray ones. Then it hit her like a load of bricks.

"Oh, yeah." She replied, remembering the day a few years prior when she had attended the Hyuga boy's birthday celebration. "You're his cousin, right? Umm... I'm Sakura. Sakura Haruno."

She didn't mean to introduce herself like that, she had actually been trying to remember the girl's name. But when she couldn't she had to think fast, she'd rather that then end up looking like an idiot to the new girl in school.

"I'm Hinata Hyuga." The dark haired girl introduced herself in turn. Thank God Sakura didn't guess her name, her assumption of it was way off.

"So," Sakura started, thinking it best to engage the girl in conversation. "Did you just move here?"

"Mmmhmm." Hinata hummed, nodding her head a little. "My father thought it'd be good for our family if we moved out of the big city and into a smaller community."

The bus halted once more, making the occupants slide forward in the seats again. The doors cracked open a red headed boy stepped inside, grunted at Hayate and continued to walk over to an empty seat. This time though, the tired eyed man didn't slam down on the gas petal. Instead he tapped his finger impatiently on the steering wheel, waiting for another slow student.

He didn't have to wait much longer, soon enough a taller boy walked onto the bus. While making his way up the steps he stumbled a little and stubbed his toe on the last step. After cursing loudly, the guy walked down the aisle and threw himself into the seat next to another boy around his age.

"People around here don't seem to be that friendly." Hinata commented quietly, just having watched the boys board the bus. The comment made Sakura smile faintly.

"They aren't all that bad." She muttered just loud enough for the other to hear. When Hinata gave her a questioning look Sakura shrugged and turned to gaze out her window. She watched as the bus continued to stop and start right back up again, intermittently students hopped on.

A few stops later a solemn looking boy with long brown hair climbed up the steps like so many others had done before him. His eyes matched that of Hinata's, but they held a much darker look then the girl's. When they fell on Hinata they narrowed and shot her a look of hate, for reasons unknown to Sakura.

His pail eyes flickered from Hinata to Sakura, but quickly he turned his head. Eye contact was one of those forbidden things.

---(Flashback)---

"_-May he rest in peace." The preacher's words had lingered in Sakura's ears after he had finished his speech. She stood silently, hand clenched, jaw locked, eyes dry and unfocused staring into the open grave. A cherry wooden coffin was being lowered slowly into the gaping hole in the ground._

_Black clad figures stood around the grave sobbing in remorse of the loss boy they had come to know. The ceremony had just ended and everyone stated to disperse from the crowd as the gentle spring rain threated to turn into a near hurricane. But Sakura didn't care. She stood stoic, like one of the concrete angels._

"_Sakura." A gentle hand was placed on the girl's shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a young woman with dirty blond hair and aquamarine eyes. Tears trickled down her cheeks, being washed away and replaced with a mixture of more tears and rainwater. "You want to come inside, honey?"_

_Slowly Sakura shook her head. The soft grasp on her shoulder lifted and Sakura knew her aunt would be retreating out of the rain soon enough. Her parents had already left the cemetery for the cover of the old church with most of the other guests._

"_Alright Sweetie, if your sure." She sighed, whether in defeat or sorrow Sakura wasn't quite sure. "We'll be inside when your done."_

_Muffled footsteps were heard over the weather. The older woman would soon be walking up the old concrete stairway of the sanctuary and out of the muddy courtyard. Sakura was curtain she was on her way to telling her parents that she was fine and that she would only take a moment longer. It wasn't true of course, but it was the right thing to do. Her parents didn't need anything else to upset them today._

_Sakura turned her gaze back to the lowered coffin in the ground. Embedded in the muddy earth just above the cavern was a newly polished marble headstone. Carved golden words lay across the smooth stone surface reading the boy's name, date of birth, and the day he had died. Underneath that in a thin font was his epitaph._

"If I take the wings of the mourning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea."

_It was from the Bible, she could tell that much. But she didn't know what it meant or why her mother had picked that passage out of all the others. Though it all seemed rather pointless now. No matter what was witting across the headstone wouldn't help her pain to go away._

"_S-Sakura." A voice crocked out at a whisper. It was almost drowned out when the rain and wind started to pick up. She hadn't heard them walk up. But then again, her mind was on other things._

_She didn't even bother turning around, she knew who it was even if she had to strain her ears to hear the words he had said._

_A few different sets of footsteps were heard as their owners slowly, silently, made their way closer to where she stood. "Sakura." Another said, this time with more care in his firm voice. She knew that was her que to turn and address the boy, but she didn't care. She didn't care about much anymore._

_An arm wrapped around her shoulders as he tried to pull her into his chest, but she wouldn't have it. Struggling, she was able to free herself from his grasp before she would've been engulfed in a sympathetic embrace. She didn't want that; she didn't want anyone's sympathy. _

"_Don't touch me." Her words seeped out of her lips like venom. She turned her head to face her three closest friends. They all stood before her drenched in the rain and adorn suitably in black attire, their pant leg's covered with mud and dirt._

"_Come on Sakura." Her redheaded friend said in a voice that we less demanding then usual. In the gray smog of the graveyard Gaara's hair was inarguably the most vibrant thing there. Not even the dull red hues of the sopping wet flowers on the new tombstone could compare. "Let's go inside."_

"_No." She said defiantly. "Just leave me alone."_

"_We aren't going to leave you out here in the rain." The usual slothfulness in Shikamaru's voice had been drained, as if he were too upset it be tired. Instead, a slightly demanding and more strained voice had wiggled it's way out of his mouth. "Come inside, everyone's waiting."_

"_Not everyone." Sakura's reply slipped past her lips before she had a chance to stop it. She didn't want to be around them right now. She didn't want to be around anyone for that matter._

"_Look," Shika spoke again, "We know you're upset, that's understandable. But you can't stay out here all day, you're going to get sick."_

_With a cruel glare sent his way Sakura scoffed. _

"_**What do they know?**__" An angry voice called out inside her head._

_Before she could get a chance to shake the previous thought away Sakura saw Neji take a step closer to her out of the corner of her eye. As soon as his second step brought the distance between the two of them a little shorter Sakura immediately moved backwards towards the open grave. The movement made Neji stop, he had never gotten that reaction from her before. Sure she was mourning the loss of someone very close to her, but the action still seemed to worry the boy. _

"_Leave me alone." She repeated, this time with a more demanding voice. "Go away, I don't want to talk to you!"_

"_Sakura, would you just calm down for a second and listen to us?" Shika tried once more to reason with her, but that only made the girl more upset._

"_No!" She screamed over the sounds of rain pelting the ground around them. "You listen to me!" Sakura rarely yelled, whatever the reason might be. And now she stood in the middle of the pouring rain screaming words that sounded more like curses. _

"_I don't want you to talk to me anymore!" She continued in her anger and anguish. "I don't want you to talk to me, to look at me, to think about me. Just leave me the hell alone!"_

"_Sakura..." Neji whispered in confusion. The looks she was getting form her friends made silent tears roll down her cheeks._

"_Don't 'Sakura' me, Neji." She spat at him, "I don't want your sympathy. I don't want your friendship either."_

"_How can you say that?" Gaara angrily asked, he was obviously hurt by her words. "We've been friends for so long and you're just going to ignore us from now on?"_

"_Yes." Sakura replied bluntly. More tears starting to form in her eyes._

"_And I suppose you want us to play along without even giving it any thought." Neji said, staring straight into her eyes. _

"_That would be nice," She glared right back at him. She was about to say something else when Neji turned on his heels and started walking away from her. Confusion set in, but it was drown out by her anger still._

"_Where the hell are you going?" She called after him, the other two boys wondering the exact same question. _

_Neji stopped. Without turning around he said, "She's been thinking about this for a while." He told the other two, "If she really wants to pretend that we aren't friends and that the time we've spent together never really happened, then so be it." He started walking steadily back to the small church. _

_Gaara was the next to fallow, casting Sakura one last look of remorse. The last look she'd receive from him that wasn't filled to the top full of pain and hurt. _

_Immediately after Gaara turned his back to the sobbing girl Shika spoke up. "Remember one thing Sakura." he said, turning to fallow his only friends, he looked over his shoulder at her briefly, "You did this to yourself."_

_It was as if he had known that mere hours later, after she had ran weeping from the cemetery away from her loved ones that she would understand what she had done. It wasn't until she sat soaking wet on the swing set of the park across her brother and her used to go to that she realized what she had actually done. She had disowned the only people she really cherished because of the little voice in the back of her head. That little voice that told her it was all her fault that he brother was dead. It was her fault that she had become distant from everyone she loved. It was her fault that she no longer had the choice to turn her life back into the way it once was. _

_Even after realizing these things and more, the voice didn't stop. Every little thing that had ever gone wrong was her fault. Every fight, every argument, every small insignificant problem was because of her. Because of the voice, she now felt guilty of everything, and like she wasn't worth anything at all. _

"_Because of you." She would keep muttering under her broken breathes, "Because of you."_

"_**Because of me?**__" The voice would reply dryly. "__**Because of me?**__"_

"_Because of you." Eyes devoid of any sense of love, a heart split in two, then was when Sakura's spirit broke. _

_A ghostly whisper caught itself the wind and echoed on into the darkness, "Because of you... Inner Sakura." _

---(End Flashback)---

A short while later Hayate pulled the large beast up to the curb and parked. An anticipent Hinata leaned forward in her seat to get a better look out of the small window.

Though wide in length Rosa Valley High stood only one story high. It's faded red brick walls were covered in white wooden framed windows and held a few odd remnants of painted over graffiti. The cement path to the front entrance split into two smaller walkways, each leading in a different direction around the outside of the building. Students littered the pavement, slowly making their way inside through the front door.

Bored with a view she had seen many times before, Sakura turned to Hinata, waiting for the girl to get up and make her way outside to join the mess of other teenagers. As soon as both girls had left the bus they slowly started walking towards the entrance to the building together.

"Where's your first class?" Sakura asked while the two girls walked up the few front steps. She knew Hinata wouldn't have any idea where to go since she had never been there before, so she figured she'd be nice and try to help the new girl out.

After rummaging through her navy colored backpack Hinata pulled out her timetable and handed it to the Haruno girl. She took it graciously and looked over all of the classes and teachers that she had. Also, everyone's locker number and combination where listed on their sheet, to help teachers out a little. Instead of having to receive this information during class they were given it early so that they were able to use the metallic contraptions on their own time.

"Your locker isn't far from mine, I can take you there first. Then I'll show you your class." Sakura mused after checking the time on her watch to make sure she would be able to make it to her class after dropping Hinata off at hers. Though she really had nothing to worry about, considering who her first teacher was.

"Thanks." The gray eyed girl said gratefully while taking her timetable back. She shoved the paper back into her bag and continued walking. They had just entered the first hallway and she was trying to memorize which way they had trued. When they turned a corner a thought crossed her mind, "Do we have any of the same class?"

"Yeah." Sakura replied as another student brushed passed her and accidentally hit her arm with his binder. He spewed out a quick apology before turning and walked away. Sakura rubbed her arm, it didn't hurt much, but her skin now had a red tinge to it. She had forgotten for a moment about her conversation. "Math and art. And almost everyone in our grade has gym right after lunch, unless they are in the after school class, which is only for people who have over scheduled their classes."

Sakura slowed down enough to read each number on the locker doors that lined one side of the hallway. After a moment or two she found a number she recognized.

"This one's mine." She said, taking out her timetable from her pocket. She found the combination printed underneath the locker number and began to spin the dial on the lock. In a moment it was unlocked and she shoved her messenger bag on top of the metal shelf after taking out a small red note book and a pen. Deciding that was all she would need until after lunch, Sakura shoved her timetable back into her pocket and closed her locker once more.

"Your's is over there." Sakura stated pointing a few meters down the hallway. Both took off walking in the direction Sakura had gestured too. In no time at all they had found the correct one and Hinata repeated Sakura's actions and only took a note book, pencil and her timetable with her. She left her backpack in the locker and closed the door.

Soon they were walking again, this time to Hinata's first class. Sakura had read that she had English first with Mr. Genma. It wasn't that far from their lockers, but then again, nothing was considered 'far' from anything in their small school. Frankly she would be surprised if there were two classes per subject in grade 12. Rosa Valley was pathetically tiny at times.

When they were just about at her class, Sakura looked over that the dark haired girl from the corner of her eye. She was wearing plain black capris, black sandals, and a navy blue t-shirt. Her hair was long and dark with a slight blueish tint to it, and bangs that covered most of her forehead. She was shorter then most girl's, though Sakura wasn't the tallest around either. By a glance you could tell she was nervous, her body language screamed it as she fidgeted with her notebook in between her fingers. She looked like she was completely lost.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Sakura said in a sweeter voice then she had used in a while. Catching Hinata's attention the girls looked at each other for a moment. "And if you do get lost, just remember that the school's a big square. If you keep walking in one direction long enough you'll get to where you want to be."

A small smile fixed itself onto the younger girl's face, thankful for all of Sakura's help. They had just reached the door of Hinata's first class, though she was nervous she walked in after bidding Sakura a quick goodbye and thank-you.

Sakura walked down the hallway, less and less people where there as the bell was about to ring signaling their need to be in class. Luckily Sakura's class was only a few leagues away when it did sound. Walking into her classroom she saw many people she had known from years prior. Actually, she knew everyone in her class, whether it be because they were old friends or because they had lived in Rosa Valley for years.

"Sakura!" The unmistakably loud voice of a bubbly blond haired boy filled the room. The girl's light green eyes traveled over to the owner, a boy with messy, sunny hair and azure blue eyes. A huge smile spread across his lively face as he waved his arm in the air to signal to her. He gestured towards an empty seat at the table he was sitting at. After a quick scan of the room Sakura noticed it was the only available seat. Those were the perks of being late for class.

As the only option she had, she walked passed other tables of students towards the back of the room. Two other people sat at the opposite side of the table as the bright eyed boy, one, Rock Lee, had been on the bus earlier that morning, the other there was looking blandly out the window. Dropping her note book down on top of the table, Sakura took the empty seat as her own.

"Morning Sakura." The loud boy said at the same time as another. The boys shared a momentary glare before turning back to look at Sakura.

"Hi Lee." She gave the boy diagonal to her a friendly smile. He was one of the dorkiest people Sakura knew. Besides his odd features he wasn't that bad looking. He worked out a lot, for reasons unknown to the girl, and he wasn't that horribly dress. Brown slacks, a green shirt with a brown, black and orange design on it, and a pair of black runners.

"Hey!" The loud boy yelled again, this time right into Sakura's ear. He was obviously insulted that she hadn't acknowledged his presence yet. She knew he'd get upset, he had always been like this. Though she didn't mean to make him feel left out she just wanted to make sure Lee wasn't ignored. People always ignored Lee, and honestly Sakura tended to as well. To make up for how rude she used to be in the past, she decided it was only right to pay more attention to him. Blame guilt, but Lee didn't seem too against the change of mind.

Suppressing a small giggle, Sakura leaned over and wrapped her arms around the boy beside her. At first he seemed surprised by her actions, but a moment later he hugged her back with some force. The girl gasped at how tightly he held her.

"Naruto." She said breathlessly, being squished in his arms. "I need air."

Immediately the boy's grasp was released and she was once again allowed to breath freely. He smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head apologetically.

"Sorry 'bout that Sakura." Naruto continued, "I guess I just got a little excited."

"Idiot." Muttered the third boy, never taking his eyes off of the view outside of the window. He was clad in all black, like he was on his way to a funeral. Even the fact that it was still summer didn't stop him from wearing a long sleeved black shirt and black board shorts with matching colored high top converse. Sakura figured he spent a good half hour that morning getting his hair to stick up in odd directions. He was good looking, rich and had enough charm to make any girl fall head of heals for him. Naruto however always saw him more as a self absorbed emo kid.

"Don't call me an idiot." Naruto demanded. Everyone knew he and Sasuke were best friends and enemies at the same time. They had a weird relationship, kind of like two brothers.

"Hi Sasuke." Sakura greeted, ignoring the previous comments the two boys shared. The mentioned teenager barely offered her a glance before turning back to the window.

"So Sakura," Lee tried to start up a conversation, knowing the pain of going ignored, "How was your summer?"

"Kinda boring." She replied, looking over at him. She wasn't being completely honest, her vacation had been more then boring. She had barely left her room at all, let alone her house. She spent most of her time sitting at her window doodling on scrap paper or reading a book. That's how she spent the majority of two months. So telling Lee it was a little boring was a serious understatement.

"Aww, that's too bad." He replied. He would have said more but just then their teacher entered the room. He was late, as per usual. Seems like nothing had changed at all since last year, not that she had expected it to.

"Hey." He said nonchalantly walking over to his desk and throwing himself into his chair. Some of his shinny gray hair stood up on his head while other strands fell where they pleased. He was wearing black pants and matching shoes, an off white shirt under a more dressy button up green striped one, and of course a green vest over top. The vest was given to all the teachers at the school as a gift for joining their staff. It had the school emblem on the left side just over top of the chest pocket. Green and gold were their school colors, and since it's really expensive to buy a bunch of gold vests for underpaid school employees it only made sense to have green ones.

"You're late, Kakashi!" Naruto yelled. He had a slight problem with controlling his level of speech.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that." Their teacher apologized half heartedly. "You see, I was on my way here this morning when I saw an old lady trying to cross the street. She looked like she needed some help and-"

"Liar." Naruto muttered. Even his mummers are loud, as most of the class heard him and small, stifled laughs were heard.

"Hn." Kakashi seemed a little offended that he wasn't believed. Though the feeling soon passed and the man pulled out a book from one of his drawers and started to read from it.

Besides the normal teacher's attire and the rather strange haircut, Sakura had to admit that he was quite attractive for an older guy. He was built but not bulky, tall but not monstrous, mature but not aged, and had the most captivating eyes. While one was the same dark colour as Sasuke's were, the other was a dark red with specks of black. Everyone around Rosa Valley knew the story behind that.

When he was younger Kakashi had been one of the adrenalin junkies, not that you would ever by able to guess that now. But one night he and his best friends Rin and Obito snuck out of their houses and went for a joy ride in Kakashi's father's trunk. The valley around Konoha has always been really good for off roading and that's just what they did. It wasn't until after they decided to drive along one of the ridges of the valley wall that they ran into trouble.

With the pressure of the truck and it's occupants the dirt shelf gave way and caused the vehicle to slide down the wall with dirt and debris. Somehow Kakashi's left eye was damaged while he and his two friends tried to abandon their vehicle, thinking that was the safest thing to do. It was good thinking too, if they would've stayed in the truck they would have certainly all died. But even after they had made it out of the truck they were still in danger. Dirt and mud brought down more debris and rocks while large tree branches began to fall. Kakashi and Rin were able to make it out alright, but not Obito. He was buried beneath all that had fallen, but he managed to hang in there and not die. At least not right away.

Kakashi had convinced Rin to run back down the valley wall to the city. She had the best sense of direction out of either of them, and Kakashi was sure that she'd be able to find help faster then he could. Not to mention the fact that he had been in a lot of pain because of his hurt eye. There was no way, in his mind, that he'd be able to make it to town and back before he passed out. While Rin was gone the gray haired boy stayed with his dieing friend, unable to help him. When Rin returned she had brought an ambulance and police with her. But there was nothing anyone could do by that time, Obito was already gone.

When the paramedics finally managed to get Kakashi looked after they quickly came to the conclusion that they'd need to take out his whole eye. Acting as fast as they could, the doctors in the Konoha hospital were about to replace Kakashi's bad eye with a donated one. The ironic part about that was the only eye they had to transplant into Kakashi's missing socket was that of his recently deceased friend.

Sakura thought that it was one of the saddest, most heartbreaking things in the world. She couldn't imagine having to go through every day with your best friend's eye. The thought of having part of someone else inside of her wasn't the most comforting of thoughts.

"Anyways," Kakashi's voice brought Sakura out of her thoughts, "Class is half over by now since we've got an assembly that will take most of your class's time. Each block is about half an hour long, this gives your teachers enough time to introduce themselves and go over any questions you might have. Other then that you're time here today is rather pointless."

You gotta love Kakashi and his layed back attitude. He's not what you would call a 'strict teacher' by any means. In fact, Kakashi seemed to have turned Rosa Valley High around when he first started working here. On his first day as a teacher he showed up late, scolded a student for calling him by his surname, and somehow managed to teach the students without making them even open a textbook. He quickly became one of the most popular staff members in the school.

"There's going to be an announcement any minute now to call us down to the auditorium." He stated blandly, "So you guys can talk quietly amongst yourselves until then."

Kakashi then turned his attention away from them and allowed them to continue on with their previous conversations.

"So how were your guy's summers?" Sakura asked.

"Not bad." Naruto was the first to reply. He put his hands behind his head and gazed up at the ceiling. "Iruka made me get a summer job though. But no one was willing to hire me for some reason."

A momentary pause over welled them, but the blond started talking once more as soon as Sasuke opened his mouth to say something.

"I was able to get some odd jobs around my neighborhood."

"Like what?" Lee asked curiously. Thinking back on it, Naruto made an irritated face.

"Helping the old lady at the corner of my street weed her garden, cleaning out Iwashi's garage, and finding some lady's cat." Naruto's face contorted even more when he muttered "Honestly I could see why the cat left."

"What about you Lee?" Sakura asked, turning to face her bowl cut friend.

"Great. I did some volunteer work." He replied enthusiastically, "You know, cleaning up the park, planting trees at the entrance gate, helping out at the kid's fun fair at the church."

"_**Yuck**_." A voice spoke out inside her head. "_**The same fun fair Mom helps organize? Every year we have to go and sit outside in the boiling heat while a million little kids run around screaming. I hate that thing.**_"

"That's cool." She said, going against what she had said in her thoughts.

"Bet it's a great workout," Naruto said, still gazing up towards the ceiling. "Running after kids all day long and digging big wholes in the ground."

"Yeah." Lee agreed while rubbing his upper arm at the same time. "I guess it is."

"Hn." Sasuke grunted out. He was defiantly one of the people who was mean to Lee. But for some reason, the nerdy black haired boy didn't seem that offended by it.

"What did you do over the break Sasuke?" Sakura asked, trying to ignore the bad feeling she held on Lee's behalf.

"Nothin'." Sasuke said shortly, not taking his eyes off of the view out the window.

"Nothing at all?" Lee said, receiving an unnoticed glare from Sasuke, "Come on, you must have done something interesting."

"Yeah, I did." He replied coldly, "But nothing I'm willing to share with you."

Sakura's dark eyebrows furled in annoyance. Something about him really irritated her.

Just then a loud noise was heard that startled the whole room.

"Attention staff and students." A voice called over the PA system, "Will all teachers now escort their classes to the auditorium please. All teachers and students to the auditorium."

Kakashi stood from his chair and ushered them with one hand to the door. "You heard the announcement," He said as students started to stand up as well, "Get a move on."

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Hey there. That's the end of this chapter, I hope you liked it. I'm trying to rationalized everything and make it seem less like anime and more like real life. I hope it's working. I'm making up stories behind everything, that's why the chapters are going to be so bloody long. I can already tell this is going to be a hell of a lot longer then I intended it to be. This chapter, for instance, is about half as long as it should be. Oh well, I like it this way. How about you?

Please review!


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